What’s Your Word?

^{Context: Off and on over the past 20 years, the Lord has given me a word heading into a new year. I say “off” because there were years when I wasn’t seeking Him. Coming into 2025, I had not received a word yet. It’s January 19, 2025 and I have not written about my word for the year. I’ve patiently been waiting, wondering, pondering…until today.}

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To say I’ve been frustrated would be an overstatement. 5-10 years ago, I would have been deeply frustrated to not have my word yet for 2025.

My personality is such that I like to have things in order. I like to have things organized and put together promptly. And that includes God speaking to me. That sounds terrible to even type out, but I try to keep it real here on my blog. He’s been faithful to give a word before the year starts, so I’ve come to expect that.

This year, this season, He is doing things differently.

Before, I would have been stressing out, wondering what I’ve done wrong or where I screwed up or disappointed Him. I tried not to do that this time. Who am I kidding? Of course, I wondered along those lines this year. Somehow, though, He kept bringing me back down to earth to remind me that it’s not about the word. It’s about HIM!!

Throughout the process of seeking Him, I would hear a word and instantly it would resonate with me. I heard the word “responsibility” one time, and then “accountability”. Piecing it together, maybe those were for the fives in the Jewish year 5785 that began in October? Two words for two fives?

Then I heard ablaze. Or maybe it was a blaze. FIRE! I love the idea of the fire of God. Whether it was ablaze or a blaze, I thought of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3. I started hearing people talk about Exodus 3 time and time again. That had to be it, right? I did a verse-by-verse study of the entire chapter. Learned things I never knew before. Yet still, I couldn’t write about it. The chapter has stuck with me, but the writing about it did not flow.

Even before this, I thought the word was “abide”. I did a study in 1 John which talks a lot about abiding. I also looked elsewhere to find where God used that word abide in scripture. I took many notes while learning to abide in Him daily. I do not know if these notes will ever see the light of day.

And so, I’ve been living in this teeter-totter existence of expectation and fear. On one side is the expectation of hearing from the Lord. On the other side, there’s the fear that I missed hearing His voice somewhere these last few months. Some say you can’t live in both faith and fear. Or others point out that is the sign of a double-minded man that James talks about (1:8).

Both are true. Expectation and fear can both be part of the same journey in our walk with God.

Which brings me to today.

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Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I stumbled across a post from a pastor in Texas. He was part of a church I used to go to a long time ago. For some reason, his post popped up in my feed. He doesn’t post often or, at least, the Facebook algorithm doesn’t show them often, but this one particular one did.

The post mentioned a new church opening in town. I was intrigued and so I went to their “preview” service today. They haven’t reached the level of weekly services yet. Still, I was drawn to find out more. I checked out their social media channels and it seemed fine. I mean, when a church talks about God’s Presence in the way they did, well, my interest was piqued.

I could easily go off on another tangent here. But, I want to stick to the task at hand. Let me just say that in these last days, discernment must take root. We won’t always get it right. But through prayer and time spent with Father, we will gain discernment. We will know when to reveal and “speak life.” We will also know when to hold our tongue (Proverbs 21:23) until the right season.

Selah.

Back to the story.

I was very interested in seeing what this new church was all about. Truth be told, I’ve been quite unsettled for a while now. I know God is calling us to a new place, but I don’t quite know where that is yet. I have felt in my spirit that we’re supposed to move for a long time now. But until God says, “Go”, we stay.

How many of you know that if you try to get ahead of God and His timing it is a recipe for disaster? Been there, done that, and it is a terrible place to be. Why? Because it is outside of His will. His timing, His timing, His timing. It is crucial to know His timing in our daily walk with Christ.

I went to this church with zero expectations. I have visited other churches with high expectations, only to be highly disappointed. I ventured without knowing what it would be like. I had peace not in the possibility of this being our church, but rather, that God was with me!

Yet, when I am in driving mode, that peace seems to fly out the window. When I am in driving mode….well…sigh. That’s a story for another day. But even in the midst of my “driving mode”, the Lord spoke to me. I recorded what I was hearing from Him on my phone:

I’m driving to a place that I’ve never been, but I don’t like being late. And so I get in my zone of being in a hurry and not letting others pass me, and being at the front of the line, in front of the lane, I should say. And the Lord spoke to me and said, “You care more about others getting ahead of you, than you do about those you’ve left behind. Not to the point of looking back. But recognizing and understanding the mindset shift that you have chosen. When did you start caring more about what others think of you or how others view you? You used to not look like that. You used to not think like that. You used to get dressed and be happy with how you looked and just went on about your way no matter what. But somewhere along the way you’ve lost sight of me, and lost sight of how I view you, of how I made you to be. You have lost sight of what’s important. And I am pulling you out of that. I am pulling you out of that mindset, and demanding change. I don’t say those words to everyone. But I say those to My prophets. I demand change in you first before you speak to others. I demand recognition in you first before you recognize the faults of others. I do have a standard. I have been talking to you about a standard. And My standard is unchanging. My standard is unwavering. I’m calling you to live in My standard. Yes, all of those words I have spoken to you. Lean and link is your word for 5785. For 2025, it’s “the standard”. My standard. That’s your word!

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In early January, I was emailing back and forth with my friend and mentor. We talked about what we were seeing for the year ahead, 2025. On January 8, I shared how I couldn’t sleep. It was 12:31 am when I wrote one email reply talking about the Philistine god, Dagon (1 Samuel 5). It was part of a vision that God was showing me for the coming days for His Church. In one of the emails, I wrote this:

Dagon kept “falling” down next to the Presence of the Lord. Idols – hidden idols – will no longer be hidden. They shall fall time & time again next to Him. His Presence must be welcomed back into our churches – in whatever state that may be – again.

Now, mind you, I had not heard anyone recently teaching on Dagon. I had not read about Dagon in more than a year. The mention of him just came out as I was typing the email, by the Spirit of the Lord. It was as random a mention as one can get.

Since then, I’ve heard it four times since then. Twice in online sermons, including one today. Another during today’s worship. And then the pastor preached from that very passage on Dagon. 1 Samuel 5, verses 1-5 (ESV):

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

When the worship service began, I wasn’t thinking about the standard or even Dagon. I was just singing and worshiping God, with other believers. Between songs, a worship leader talked about Dagon. The context was about idols falling (See: Call to Repentance, February 2024).

What? I was taken aback for a moment. And then I realized that God was trying to get my attention. In the middle of the singing, God told me to sit down and write. He impressed upon me “the standard”, and then He mentioned the glory. Without thinking about it, I wrote what He told me:

The standard is the glory. God’s standard is the GLORY. Idols fall in the presence of His Glory. The standard in this city is the Glory of God. Step into the Glory. Don’t get in the way of the glory. Carry the glory according to My standard.

Selah.

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What is God’s standard? He said, “The standard is the glory.” I rewrote it this way: God’s standard is the glory!

Whenever the Lord gives me a word, I need to back it up with Scripture. I have spent the afternoon and evening at home pondering this word, but no scriptures came to mind. During the process, though, I did write this:

• God’s love
• God’s grace
• God’s holiness

Great. Now what does that mean, Lord? I couldn’t wrap my head fully around “the standard” as my word for 2025. I reverted back to earlier possibilities. It made me think about that word, “abide”, again. We should “abide” in God’s love, “abide” in God’s grace, and “abide” in God’s holiness. That works!

The standard is the glory surely must mean abide.

Oh that seems too easy. It makes perfect sense. We abide in His standard, but there still felt like a disconnect. Maybe there’s a verse for each of those ideas instead, I thought. And so I dug into the Bible some more looking for the standards of “love”, “grace”, and “holiness”.

The word “love” there is the Greek word, agapaó. In both instances, we say it as agape in English. It is Strong’s 25, meaning a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. This is akin to the word, “love” in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world…” It is describing the type of love that is based in covenant – sealed with blood.

It sounds like this love is unchanging and unwavering. Both of those words were what God said to me today about HIS love.

Okay, so let’s keep going. We’ve looked up God’s love. Now let’s review God’s grace:

For grace, well, we are in a grace sandwich right now with the 5785 Jewish year. Two fives beginning and ending; five meaning grace. But according to the Bible, in Titus 2:11-12 (NKJV):

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

That word “grace” there is the Greek word,χάρις (charis). Strong’s 5485 for that word means, “denotes the graciousness of God in bestowing gifts and blessings upon His people, as well as the grace that believers are to extend to others.”

God’s love and God’s grace. Two down, one to go. Let’s look at God’s holiness. And for that we’ll go to 1 Peter 1:15-16:

but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The word, “holy”, there is Strong’s 40. It is the Greek word, ἅγιος or “hagios”, which means holy. It also means sacred and set apart. Peter is quoting Leviticus 19:2 there. It states, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Okay, okay. Great, Sunny. God’s love, God’s grace, God’s holiness. How does that fit with “the standard”?

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Aside from some minor edits here and there, everything above was written yesterday, Sunday, January 19. I slept on what was written. I meditated on it throughout the day. I know the word the Lord said is true. But it is much deeper than I realize.

And I am not sure if I can properly write it all out.

But God, in His faithfulness, keeps lovingly walking me through the process.

Which brings us to now. I’m still fleshing this out, so bear with me please.

Exodus. I keep thinking about Exodus. Not just chapter 3 that I studied. To summarize, (burning bush – Moses saw – Moses turned – God spoke – Moses answered…wow!!! But I am also thinking about the pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night in Exodus 13. God’s manifested presence in these two forms guided and protected the Israelites. They traveled the wilderness after He delivered them out of Egypt. He was with His people. How did He show it? Through His glory!

My mentor recently has been sharing some things on YouTube that God is showing her about 2025. In one video, she talks about the fire and the glory saying, “Look for the glory after the fire.”

This got me thinking about all of the words that the Lord has been speaking to me. Fire (ablaze/a blaze), abide, responsibility/accountability, love, grace, holiness, the standard, the glory!

If the standard is the glory, and the Lord has given me all of these words – remember, He said to me, “Yes, all of those words I have spoken to you” – surely there has to be a scripture or scriptures that tie it altogether, right?

I found just the one:

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

_{Psalm 84:11-12 (NKJV)}

Let’s break it down because that’s how I like to process:

• Fire (ablaze/a blaze) – For the Lord God is a sun and shield
• Grace – The Lord will give grace and glory;
• Love – Like any parent should, No good thing will He withhold.
• Accountability/responsibility – From those who walk uprightly
• Holiness – O Lord of hosts.
• Abide – Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

And right in the middle of all of that is what? GLORY! God is God. And He will give these things to us. But it is all dependent upon one thing.

Those who walk uprightly.

How do we walk uprightly? By living the standard.

His standard of love (Matthew 22:37-40). His standard of grace (Titus 2:11-12). His standard of holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). He will be that pillar of cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13). He will be all that we need Him to be in this season by walking uprightly before Him. Not by what we do, but because of who He is which dictates how we live each and every day. By His Standard!!!!

The Standard is the Glory!

Selah.

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Knees Down, Prayers Up,

Sunny